- Many people today thought of the victims on the Italian island of Giglio, who died in the accident on the “Costa Concordia”.
- After a service on Thursday afternoon in the church Chiesa dei Santi Lorenzo e Mamiliano, two sailors let a wreath of flowers into the sea from a coast guard boat in memory of the dead.
- Ten years ago the ship struck a rock and partially sank. 32 people were killed at that time.
“Coming back to this place feels like it was back then,” one survivor told the Ansa news agency. He was lucky at the time because he was near a dinghy.
Legend:
The Mayor of Giglio Island, Sergio Ortelli, greets the relatives and survivors at the entrance to the church. Few are expected because of the pandemic.
Keystone
The mayor Giglios knows about the feelings that the commemoration triggers on site. “This will be the last public memorial service. We don’t want to forget, but we want to respect the 32 victims, ”Sergio Ortelli told journalists. In the coming year, the commemoration should therefore be held on a smaller scale without media hype.
The sinking of a cruise giant
On January 13, 2012, the almost 300 meter long ship hit a rock on the island and partially sank. 32 people were killed in the tragedy. According to Ortelli, there were people from 54 nations on board.
The Costa Concordia accident
The fire brigade, coast guard and civil defense posted on social media on Thursday pictures from the night of the dramatic rescue operation and videos of divers who later swam into the ship.
Flower wreath and torchlight procession to the pier
To commemorate the victims, two sailors threw a wreath of flowers into the sea from a coast guard boat. A torchlight procession to the pier in front of the accident site is also planned for Thursday evening. Furthermore, at 9:45 p.m., the time of the collision of the “Costa Concordia” with the rock, sirens from boats in the port are supposed to wail.
Legend:
Here the wreath of flowers flies into the sea. It is a symbol to commemorate the 32 deceased.
Reuters
Because of the Corona situation, only a few passengers from then or relatives were expected to the events on the island.
Ex-captain behind bars
The huge ship was brought to Genoa in an elaborate salvage operation in 2014, and has long since been dismantled.
The then captain Francesco Schettino is serving a 16-year prison sentence in Rome, to which he was sentenced in 2017 at the last instance. He brought the case to the European Court of Human Rights, which could deal with it this year.